Ankara: Turkey and Russia have agreed on the need to improve relations
Turkey has confirmed that its President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has sent a letter to his Russian counterpart, President Vladimir Putin.
“In the letter, he stated that he wanted to inform the family of the deceased Russian pilot that he shares their pain and that he expresses his condolences. Perhaps they will forgive us,” this was said on the 27th of June by Erdoğan’s representative, Ibrahim Kalin, who was quoted by Turkish media.
“Turkey and Russia have agreed on the need to take immediate steps to improve bilateral relations,” Kalin said.
On the 27th of June, the Kremlin announced that President Erdoğan had apologized for the Russian Su-24 bomber who was shot down by the Turkish military. Erdoğan also expressed an interest in resolving the situation.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated after the Russian Su-24 bomber was shot down at the Turkish-Syrian border on the 24th of November last year. Ankara argued that aircraft violated the country’s airspace but Moscow denied this. Russia then imposed sanctions against Turkey after the incident.